Video cassettes and similar types of audio and video tapes are usually packaged in a paperboard sleeve which is open at one end. The cassette is slid into the sleeve to provide a degree of protection during handling. The sleeve also serves as a means of identifying the contents of the cassette listing the performing artists (if any) and other information.
More recently, video cassettes have been considered as a powerful medium for direct mail advertising as well as other promotional programs ("Business Week", Sep. 23, 1992, pages 67-72, "The Detroit News", Jun. 28, 1991). In this role, the package for the cassette must provide adequate protection during shipping and particularly for mass mailings through the U.S. Postal System. Further, it is most desirable for the package to provide sufficient space for a printed advertising message as well as what is deliverable on the video tape. The printed advertising message greatly enhances the overall communication and persuasion capabilities of the unit. Also, means must be included in the package to insure that the recipient is exposed to the advertising on the package before having access to the cassette. In addition, the capability to insert a personalized letter further enhances the communication capability of the unit. Since the recipient of these units are usually not charged any fees, a low unit cost is a key factor in the expansion of direct mail video as a marketing tool. In addition to direct mail advertising, video cassettes may be used for catalog information, directions, promotions, video magazines, greeting cards and other commercial ventures. Such packaging could also be useful in marketing of the cassette as a video letter on which a consumer could tape an individual, personal message and could mail to family, friends and others.
The most commonly currently available sleeve-type pack is not very satisfactory for mailing and provides only limited space on the two broad panels for advertising. On the infrequent occasions when this sleeve is used for mailings, it is shrink wrapped. However, for most mailings the sleeve is further protected by an overpack such as a carton, bubble bag or jiffy bag. Since these outer wraps are not very suitable for advertising, additional advertising literature is often inserted into the pack. The additional costs of the overwrap, advertising literature and manual labor to provide a reliable mailing unit and a more persuasive advertising vehicle greatly diminishes the marketers' ability to use this vehicle broadly and in large quantities.
An elegant approach to solving this problem was disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 679,211. In that disclosure a package is provided that gives proper protection to the cassette, expands the print space and the general capability to deliver effective advertising. At the same time, this package has lower unit costs due to the elimination of additional materials and manual labor that were commonly needed in other packaging.
The package was further improved as disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 836,354 to provide additional advertising space and due to design changes, had lower unit costs.
However, the package still had shortcomings for ease of inclusion of letters to the addressee and for simplicity of production and assembly. Improvements for these aspects of the package are still needed.